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14-year-old boy impersonates Chicago cop

14-year-old boy impersonates Chicago cop

Chicago police arrested a 14-year-old boy for impersonating one of their own on Saturday.

The
boy, who has been charged as a juvenile with impersonating an officer,
walked into the Grand Crossing (3rd) District station, 7040 S. Cottage
Grove Ave., dressed in a Chicago police uniform, police spokeswoman
Monique Bond said. The boy, who reported for duty about 1:30 p.m.,
partnered with another police officer for about five hours.

The boy identified himself as an officer from another district
but was detailed for the day to Grand Crossing and also was savvy
enough to sign out a police radio and a ticket book, according to a
source. The source also said the boy went on traffic stops with the
officer he went on the street with.

Bond said the boy "did not write tickets" and said there was "no information to indicate that he [was] ever behind the wheel."

At an afternoon news conference police said the boy had no interaction with the public.

After his tour was over, a ranking officer became suspicious of the
boy. The source said the officer discovered the teen was not a real
police officer when he couldn't produce any credentials.

The source said the boy had an empty holster and a newspaper in place of a ballistic vest in his vest carrier.

Police described the boy as a former "police explorer," which means
he was part of a community program run through the police department's
Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) that allows youth to
interact with Chicago police officers. He was part of the explorer
program in 2008 in the Englewood (7th) District.

"The boy was not armed and the matter is under investigation with Internal Affairs," Bond said.

Bond also said that how the boy acquired the police uniform was
under investigation. Police officers need to present identification
while acquiring their uniforms.

"This individual [the boy] has identified an egregious breach in
security," Deputy Supt. of Patrol Dan Dugan said at an afternoon news
conference.

The boy, whom authorities were not identified since he's a
juvenile, is scheduled to appear in Juvenile Court at 10 a.m. Monday.

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